Pitcher perfect - Lee shoots hole in one

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PERFECT: New Zealand's Danny Lee set his tournament alight at the Humana Challenge with a hole-in-one.

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It was a day of one considerable high and several lows as New Zealand golfer Danny Lee faded to finish well down the field at the Humana Challenge on the PGA Tour in California.

A hole in one for eagle at the short par-three 17th hole on the Palmer Course at La Quinta could not save Lee from plummeting down the leaderboard, a two-over 74 seeing him finish tied for 66th of the 75 players who made the cut in the third tournament of the season.

The New Zealand No 1 had positioned himself for a good finish having signed for three successive rounds of three-under 69 to enter the final round in a share of 36th, but a bogey-laden final round stymied his progress.

After two bogeys in his first six holes, Lee quickly moved into red figures for the day when he birdied the 16th - his seventh having teed off on the 10th - then made an ace at the par-three 17th, which played 140 yards.

He drew a wedge to about two feet past the pin, the ball pitching and spinning back into the hole as the Kiwi celebrated in the customary way by high-fiving his playing partners and caddies and ensured his place on the highlights reel.

It moved him to 10-under for the tournament but he fell away badly with four bogeys in the space of six holes as he closed by taking 39 shots on the front nine. When he played the same nine holes on Friday, he shot 33.

Lee eventually finished at seven-under for the tournament formely known as the Bob Hope Classic and while he will bank his first pay cheque of the season, he'll be ruing his finish.

American Mark Wilson claimed his fifth PGA Tour victory, winning by one stroke at 23-under par. He pockets the winning share of $US1 million from the $5.6 million purse.

- © Fairfax NZ News